Tenchi the Space Pirate
by Ammadeau
Summary: Three changes in the past send the Tenchi Muyo OAV going in a completely different direction.


Tenchi the Space Pirate  
(A Tenchi Muyo Alt History)  
By Ammadeau  
Roy.Fokker@UNSpacy.org  
http://www.angelfire.com/anime/amma  
  
Note: This is based on the OAV continuity, including elements   
from the Mihoshi Special.  
  
***  
  
Aeka grinned to see her ship was all set to go after her half-  
brother and fiance. It had already been a year since he had left in   
pursuit of Ryoko, and the princess had suffered waiting for his   
return. She could stand to wait no longer.  
Aeka spun around in surprise when a heavy hand landed on   
her shoulder. She looked up into the disapproving frown of her   
father. Slowly, he shook his head.  
  
Kiyone was just about to foil the mad scientist and save the   
galaxy, when her luck turned against her. She stumbled on the   
edge of a gangway and pitched forward, falling straight towards the   
power source of the galaxy destroyer, the light nearly as bright as a   
star. Nearly as hot as well, she could already feel it on her skin.   
She idly wondered if she would burn up quickly, or would she   
suffer in agony for days.  
When suddenly someone grabbed her and pulled her away   
from the edge. Kiyone looked up into the eyes of her savior and   
blinked in surprise to realize it was her partner Mihoshi grinning   
back at her.  
  
Chapter 1: Is This a Rescue Mission or a Kidnapping?  
  
Tenchi yawned and pulled himself out of bed, only to stare   
at his own reflection. Gah, he looked terrible. What time was it   
anyway? As his brain started to work, he realized what he was   
staring into was one of the control crystals that ran the ship.  
"Miya!" the crystal chirped at him a bit too cheerfully at   
this time in the morning, whatever time it was. Hard to tell in   
space.  
"Let me guess," Tenchi said as he scratched his head and   
dragged himself out of bed. "There's an important call, but you   
couldn't wake Ryoko up no matter how much noise you made."  
The crystal confirmed this with a nod.  
"Figures. I'll take care of it. Again."  
Tenchi did his best to make himself look presentable. The   
call had to be important. It was two hours before he normally   
woke up and Ryo-oki wouldn't disturb his sleep without good   
reason. Ryoko on the other hand...  
Plopping himself down in the command chair, Tenchi once   
again felt that sense of wonder he had when he first looked out at   
the stars after leaving Earth. Even there the night sky had always   
been beautiful, especially when he was visiting his grandfather out   
in the country, but this was something else. It made everything he   
had gone through to get and to stay here worth it.  
Taking a deep breath in an effort to drive the remaining   
sleepiness from his body, Tenchi told Ryo-oki, "Open the channel."  
A large viewscreen irised before him, displaying two   
familiar faces. Tenchi started to smile, despite his rude awakening.   
It had been over a week since he had seen Mihoshi and Kiyone last.  
"Hi, Tenchi!" Mihoshi shouted with a big smile, waving her   
hands in greeting.  
"Mihoshi, stop that!" Kiyone shouted immediately. "Can't   
you be serious for once?"  
Mihoshi looked back at her partner in concern. "What did I   
do wrong?"  
Tenchi laughed and shook his head. Those two seemed like   
they'd never change.  
"Tenchi, I'm sorry to wake you at such an hour, but we have   
a communication of the utmost importance," Kiyone told him,   
suddenly all business.  
Tenchi nodded, knowing why Ryo-oki had accepted the call   
in the first place. When he had first met the two GP officers, they   
were on his trail for a number of crimes, but somewhere along the   
way they had decided to join up with his cause. Kiyone was sick   
of the greed and corruption of the Galaxy Police and Mihoshi   
simply went along with her. Since then, they had become some of   
his most trusted friends and allies. When they said something was   
important, he gave them his full attention.  
"It seems that... What I mean is...," Kiyone started and then   
shrugged. "I better let her explain it herself."  
The screen went black for a moment as the other call was   
routed to him. When the screen came back, Tenchi's eyes went a   
little wide, though he did his best to control his reaction. He   
already knew about this caller; there probably wasn't a space-  
traveling person who didn't.  
"You honor me with your presence, Princess Aeka," Tenchi   
said slowly, trying to be careful not to give offense. While not   
having taken any action against the Jurai house directly, he had   
been the thorn in the side of some of its pettier nobles. He knew   
that Kiyone would have never have made this connection if this   
was about retribution, however.  
"We don't have time for formalities now," Aeka told him,   
her eyes hard and serious. "This is a secure line, but I don't know   
for how long. I can let no one know about my making this call."  
That certainly peaked Tenchi's interest. Why would the   
heir apparent to the most powerful empire in the galaxy put herself   
at risk to speak privately with him of all people, a wanted criminal?  
"Get right to the point then, princess," Tenchi told her.   
"The less time spent talking, the less we compromise your safety."  
Aeka smirked, but with little humor. "My safety is entirely   
the problem... How should I refer to you?"  
"Tenchi is fine."  
Aeka shook her head. Hundreds of years of training   
rebelled against the idea of calling someone simply by their first   
name. For her, it would be an insult of the highest order. "I will   
call you Lord Tenchi."  
"Lord?" Tenchi asked in some surprise.  
Aeka smiled, though this time with real amusement. "Well,   
you are lord of the pirates, aren't you? Don't they all tremble at the   
very mention of you're name?"  
"Not exactly," Tenchi admitted. He didn't feel like   
mentioning that the person they all feared was Ryoko, himself   
included sometimes. "But we're getting off the subject."  
"Yes, we are," Aeka agreed, becoming serious once again.   
"My safety is my problem. I'm guarded day and night. Wherever I   
go, there are legions of guards sworn to die to protect me. I have a   
schedule that maps out how I spend every moment, probably until   
the day I die. For hundreds of years I've been a prisoner, not a   
princess, and I am sick of it! I have had enough!"  
Tenchi leaned forward seeing all the suppressed rage finally   
boiling to the surface, slipping out of the person's probably iron   
control. "What would you like me to do about it?"  
Aeka seemed to recover in an instant; the cool mask was on   
once again. "Well, when I heard about your exploits I got an   
idea..."  
  
Ryoko groaned as her alarm sounded, slapped it off, and   
rolled over to go back to sleep. The next moment she had sprung   
out of bed with sudden energy. She couldn't oversleep on this   
morning of all mornings. The morning when she would finally   
make Tenchi hers.  
Ryoko chuckled to herself. The plan was so simple that it   
couldn't fail. She knew that it was at least two hours before Tenchi   
would wake up. All she had to do was carefully slip into his bed   
and be there when he woke up in the morning. He might protest,   
he might yell, but she bet she could get him to admit that he was   
sleeping a whole lot better with her there. And if not, she'd just   
have to try again and again until he got used to her. Because close   
to him was where she wanted to be.  
Ryoko frowned slightly as she made herself look   
presentable. She couldn't have Tenchi waking up next to a hag.   
She had already frightened him once like that in the cave when he   
had released her. Their first meeting. Even she could admit that it   
hadn't gone too well. Getting close to him had not only frightened   
him, but provided a nasty shock caused by that sword of his. She   
had planned to take it out on him by giving him a good scare. Not   
actually hurt him, just to tease him a little.  
Something had changed her mind, however. Taking a   
closer look at him lying there asleep on the roof, she decided that   
the last thing she wanted to do was scare him. Instead, she wanted   
to make him smile. She wanted to see his eyes go wide beholding   
the wonders of the universe, all because of her.  
So Ryoko did what any space pirate would have done in the   
same situation, she kidnapped him. She was disappointed when he   
awoke less than pleased with the fact that his home planet was now   
more than a spec in the distance. That had not set their relationship   
on the note that she had wanted it to. And while Tenchi had   
eventually gotten used to the idea of being a space pirate, and   
forgiven her for the initial kidnapping, he was far more distant than   
Ryoko had wanted.  
Ryoko had done everything she could think of to bridge the   
gap. She flirted with him outrageously, throwing herself at him   
every chance that she got. The problem was Tenchi never took her   
seriously. He thought it was all one big joke on her part.  
Ryoko had to admit that that was partially her fault.   
Because every time that Tenchi actually responded to her   
flirtations, she'd pull away, embarrassed. Tenchi would laugh then   
about calling her bluff and, nervously at first, Ryoko would laugh   
with him. But it still wasn't a bluff to her. Despite the bold way   
that she acted, Ryoko had never had an intimate relationship with   
anyone like this before and the thought of it made her just a bit   
scared inside. So she pulled away on instinct.  
Not this time, though, Ryoko declared to herself as she   
teleported into Tenchi's room. Once she got used to his body next   
to hers, she wouldn't pull away ever again. With a grin, she slipped   
into his bed.  
The room was in complete darkness, so that even Ryoko's   
cat-like eyes could only make out vague shapes. Tenchi's body   
was much softer and smaller than she had expected. It felt that he   
had no bones at all. That couldn't be right.  
Ryoko created a small ball of energy in on hand, casting the   
room in a dim glow. She was surprised to find the thing she was   
clutching so tightly was a pillow. There was no sign of Tenchi   
anywhere. Where could he be?  
  
Tenchi immediately put Aeka on hold when he heard the   
distinctive sound of Ryoko's teleport behind him. This had caused   
enough embarrassing scenes in the past that Tenchi wanted to   
avoid anyone else seeing it, especially a princess.  
Ryoko wrapped her arms around Tenchi's neck and rested   
her head on his shoulder. "Good morning, Tenchi," Ryoko   
whispered in his ear. "What are doing up so early?"  
"Answering an important call because Ryo-oki couldn't   
wake you up for it," Tenchi told her and glanced down at her bare   
arms. "Do you have any clothes on?"  
Ryoko grinned, not answering right away. "Nope."  
"Could you put some on then? Something not too   
revealing? This is someone I shouldn't even have on hold in the   
first place."  
"But Tenchi..." Ryoko whined, rubbing her face against his   
neck.  
"This is serious, Ryoko. We don't have time for your   
games now."  
"Okay," Ryoko said a bit sadly, suddenly appearing next to   
him in her usual clothes, complete with tail.  
Seeing her frown, Tenchi looked up at her and said, "Why   
don't we raid a merchant ship together later today? Okay?"  
Ryoko grinned in reply.  
  
Tenchi took the call off hold, the black screen opening once   
again.  
"Long time no see, Princess," Ryoko told her with a smirk.  
"You... you," Aeka stuttered in rage. "What are you doing   
there?"  
"Didn't you know? I'm Tenchi's partner."  
Tenchi looked back and forth between the two women now   
glaring at each other. "You two know each other?"  
"Unfortunately, yes," Aeka said with a great deal of   
bitterness in her voice. "My current problems stem from the   
actions of that... monster woman. Seven hundred years ago she   
attacked Jurai and my brother left in pursuit of her. Since he never   
returned, all of his duties fell on my shoulders. Since he vanished,   
my parents have me guarded day and night so the same will not   
happen to me."  
"Hey, it hasn't been all wine and roses for me either,   
princess," Ryoko shot back. "That brother of yours imprisoned me   
in a cave seven hundred years ago. If it hadn't been for Tenchi   
here, I'd still be stuck there, powerless and alone."  
"Perhaps it's wrong of me, but somehow hearing that makes   
me feel a bit better. At least you didn't escape punishment for your   
crimes," Aeka said, regaining her control once again. "And what   
of my brother? What happened to Yosho?"  
Ryoko shrugged. "Don't ask me, princess. He locked me   
up in that cave and that was the last I ever saw of him. But if I do   
happen to run across him again, I'll be sure to mail the pieces home   
to Jurai."  
Ryoko felt oddly disappointed when Aeka didn't so much   
as flinch when she talked about cutting her brother up in little bits.  
"Yosho?" Tenchi said, nearly to himself. "My grandfather   
told me of a legendary warrior named Yosho that sealed the   
demon, I mean Ryoko, in the cave. Supposedly, he was my   
ancestor that died a long time ago."  
"I see," Aeka accepted this with a nod. "Then you truly are   
Lord Tenchi. You are the direct descendant of the prince of Jurai."  
Aeka then turned to face Ryoko, looking her right in the   
eye. "I know we have our differences, Ryoko, but I am willing to   
forgive you for your past misdeeds if you help me now."  
Ryoko smirked. "I'm not exactly interested in your eternal   
friendship, princess."  
"I am also willing to pay you and Lord Tenchi handsomely   
for your assistance. I have been planning this for some time now   
and have a accumulated a large private fund just for this purpose."  
"How large?"  
Aeka named a figure. Ryoko couldn't stop her eyes from   
nearly bulging out of their sockets. The only way they could hope   
to match that sum in a single job was to knock over the main   
depository of the galactic bank. She didn't think all the jobs they   
had done so far equaled it.  
"What do you want us to do, princess? Kill everyone who   
ever looked at you cross-eyed?"  
Aeka shook her head. "No, I want you both to be my   
kidnappers."  
  
"Are you sure about this, Tenchi?" Ryoko asked her   
partner. "This could be some kind of trap."  
They were currently only hours away from Jurai. It was   
three days since Aeka's initial call and now everything was in place   
for the faux kidnapping. They were going to rush past Jurai's   
defenses much like Ryo-oki had done seven hundred years ago,   
teleport down to a pre-determined location, pick up Aeka, and rush   
out of there again. Kiyone and Mihoshi would be running   
interference on the Galaxy Police, so all they would have to   
contend with would be the relatively unprepared forces of Jurai.   
Aeka herself said she would be handling them, though she had not   
gone into any details.  
"I'm surprised you of all people would want to give up on   
all that money," Tenchi told her.  
Ryoko gulped. It was the thought of all that money that had   
stopped her from saying something earlier. "I just don't trust that   
princess, that's all. You saw that she had a grudge against me.   
Probably set this whole thing up just to trap me, that little witch!"  
Tenchi suddenly put his hand on her forehead, causing   
Ryoko to blush. "Hmm, no fever," he said, taking his hand away.  
"W..why did you do that?" Ryoko stuttered nervously,   
completely forgetting what she'd been talking about.  
"Oh, I thought you had gotten sick or something. You're   
not acting like yourself today, Ryoko. I've never seen you worried   
about being caught before. There were times when I wish you   
had."  
Tenchi had only been Ryoko's partner for a short time, but   
they had already had enough close calls to last him a lifetime. No   
matter what the situation, Ryoko was always confident that they'd   
be able to escape scot-free before.  
"I just know that princess is going to try something sneaky,"   
Ryoko muttered mostly to herself. Though what she was really   
concerned about was the way Aeka had been looking at her Tenchi,   
calling him 'Lord' of all things. Ryoko didn't care if he was the   
direct descendent of Yosho or not, there was no way she was going   
to let them make him crown prince or anything like that. He was   
hers.  
Tenchi tried to give her a reassuring smile. He wasn't sure   
how effective it was since it was usually Ryoko's job to reassure   
him. "The job will be over in a few hours, so don't worry. Kiyone   
and Mihoshi will be standing by just in case we need help.   
Actually, it's time to check in with them now."  
  
Kiyone and Mihoshi appeared on their normal patrol ship,   
but in place of their uniforms were heavy overalls smudged with   
soot and grime.  
"Sorry, Tenchi," Kiyone apologized for their appearances.   
"Altering the GP communications array took longer than I had   
expected. We haven't had time to freshen up yet. It wouldn't have   
taken nearly as long if someone hadn't smashed the main circuit   
board so it had to be replaced completely."  
"Wow, who did that?" Mihoshi asked as she smiled and   
winked at Tenchi.  
"You did, you bubblebrain!" Kiyone shouted.  
"I did?" Mihoshi said, her eyes confused.  
Seeing Kiyone about to explode again, Tenchi decided to   
intercede. "That's fine, as long as everything is set to go."  
Kiyone calmed down and turned to face him. "Once you   
give the word, all calls to the GP offices from Jurai will be washed   
out with interference similar to that of a solar storm. That should   
give you more than enough time to escape with the princess."  
"Thank you again for your efforts."  
"No problem, Tenchi!" Mihoshi told him with a smile.  
  
Ryo-oki floated in space, drifting closer and closer to the   
giant blue and green ball known as the planet Jurai. Tenchi sat in   
the command chair, wearing the grey and black form-fitting battle   
armor Ryoko had insisted he don. Ryoko herself stood beside him,   
ready in her own battle outfit of red and black. Their eyes were   
locked on the planet before them, watching silently, the sound of   
their breathing hardly audible.  
A small beep suddenly sounded, announcing that they had   
breached the first defense perimeter.  
"Attack," Tenchi told Ryo-oki, his voice level, though his   
hands were shaking slightly.  
Ryo-oki was a blur as it tore through the defenses of Jurai,   
its automatic weapons leaving a trail of multi-colored explosions   
behind, none of them fast enough to keep up with the living ship.   
Manned defenses were non-existent. Whatever the princess had   
done seemed to be working. It was only the space of a few minutes   
before they had arrived at the pre-chosen rendezvous point, though   
for Tenchi and Ryoko it had felt like hours. Breaching the   
defenses of Jurai was well beyond anything Tenchi had   
experienced before, and was not something Ryoko had been   
looking forward to a second time.  
  
Tenchi looked over the park that Ryo-oki had beamed them   
down in with wonder. Leaves slowly drifted down from row upon   
row of trees, lined with carefully trimmed bushes. It was a place   
much like Earth, but different at the same time. It felt almost like   
home.  
"Hey, snap out of it. We still have a job to do," Ryoko told   
him pointedly with a small shove on his shoulder. "We don't   
exactly have the time for sight-seeing."  
Tenchi grinned in embarrassment. "Sorry, Ryoko. Let's   
find the princess and get out of here."  
They found princess Aeka by a statue of a young man with   
a sword out-stretched. She was dressed in a elegant, long-flowing   
kimono of purple and white with her hood pulled up. She was also   
flanked by two large floating logs, each painted with a single   
character and marked with a large gem that reminded Tenchi of a   
cyclops.  
"Shit, I knew the princess would double-cross us," Ryoko   
said though clenched teeth as she dropped into a battle stance.  
"What are you talking about, Ryoko?"  
"Those floating logs are Jurai Guardians, Tenchi. Each one   
is supposed to be the equal to a legion of guards. I shouldn't have   
too much trouble with the both of them though."  
"I believe there's been some misunderstanding," Aeka   
finally spoke, her voice calm. "These are my personal servants and   
bodyguards. I will need their protection once I have finally left   
Jurai behind. Their loyalty is only to me and not my family, so I   
can assure you they will do you no harm."  
"Yeah, like we can trust a..." Ryoko started to say, but   
trailed off when Tenchi put his hand on her shoulder.  
"That's enough, Ryoko. The princess hasn't given us any   
reason to distrust her. And we all have to be going now. Jurai's   
defenses won't be fooled forever."  
As if summoned by Tenchi's words, a small army of Jurai   
guards suddenly surrounded them. "They're trying to kidnap the   
princess!" their captain shouted. "Stop them at all costs!"  
"And I suppose this isn't a trap either, princess?" Ryoko   
said with venom as the three of them backed away from the guards   
who closed the circle around them.  
Aeka ignored her. "I swear to you Lord Tenchi that I had   
nothing to do with this!"  
Tenchi ignored the both of them. To him, it didn't matter   
how the guards had found them, he had to fight them anyway.   
Tenchi didn't like violence, especially against those who were just   
doing their job, but he really had no choice. He tensed himself up,   
waiting for the first attack.  
Suddenly, Aeka's two guardians sprang into action, bowling   
over, knocking down guards, or shooting them with beams from   
their crystal eyes. After a few moments, all of the guards lay   
unconscious at their feet.  
"Err, thanks," Tenchi said uneasily to one of the large   
floating pieces of wood.  
"Your welcome," it replied in a formal tone.  
"I would suggest that we make our escape now before any   
more unwanted guests arrive," Aeka suggested in a voice that was   
only barely holding onto its previous calm.  
Ryoko nodded. That at least should could agree with.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
[Now out of danger, Aeka pays them their money and prepares to   
depart to her own ship Ryo-oh which she had hidden away.   
Unfortanately, Ryo-oki was wounded and Tenchi and Ryoko are   
forced to live aboard Aeka's ship for a while. She has no problem   
with Tenchi, actually she's cozing up to him. It's Ryoko that's the   
problem. Somehow Aeka becomes a perminant member of their   
group.]  
  
[Sasami is sent in her ship Tsuanami to recover her sister and   
return her to Jurai.]  



End file.
